Perlmutter Cancer Center

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the side effects and how well talimogene laherparepvec and panitumumab work in treating patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has spread to nearby tissues or lymph nodes (locally advanced) or other places in the body (metastatic). Talimogene laherparepvec is a type of vaccine made from a gene-modified virus that may help the body build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as panitumumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving talimogene laherparepvec and panitumumab may work better in treating patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the skin compared to panitumumab alone. The study agents of alimogene laherparepvec and panitumumab are investigational, which means that they have not been approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the health authority that gives approval for new medicines to be prescribed in the United States, but the FDA has given its permission to test these agents in the current trial.